Wisconsin (0-0, 0-0) vs. St. Francis (0-0, 0-0)

Game: Tuesday, Nov. 9 inside the Kohl Center

Time: 7:00 PM

Watch: BIG+

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 68, St. Francis 51

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Wisconsin basketball is back, and with a new season comes a very different cast of characters for head coach Greg Gard. The 2021-22 roster looks much different from one year ago, with redshirt senior Brad Davison, junior Tyler Wahl and sophomore Jonathan Davis the lone returners with any meaningful playing experience in a UW uniform.

Across the sideline, the visiting Terriers face a similar task as they come into the new season without their top three scorers from a season ago. And like the Badgers, St. Francis used the transfer portal in the offseason to fill out its roster.

As it goes with the first month or so - especially this year - Gard and his staff will be more focused on the guys in red and white in order to figure out the right rotations, pairings, strengths and allocation of minutes.

"Quite a few transfers and the other bit of their (St. Francis) roster is freshmen, so there’s not a lot of last year’s video that can be of help for this year," Greg Gard said in a news conference Monday afternoon. "Specifically this time of year, you’re more focused on yourself more so than the opponent. You’re really trying to implement and apply your system to whatever a team does offensively and handle that."

The Badgers have new faces across the board but will have inexperience at point guard and center, specifically. Wisconsin has often had a veteran lead guard in the starting lineup, but Gard will have to rely on the likes of Chucky Hepburn, Jahcobi Neath and Lorne Bowman, each of whom will be getting their first live action in a Wisconsin uniform. At center, sophomores Steven Crowl and Ben Carlson, along with transfer Chris Vogt, will handle the load.

UW should be able to handle the Terriers Tuesday night to start the season off with a win, but it will be interesting to see how Gard handles the rotation, how Davis looks after a summer with team USA, what Hepburn brings to the starting lineup and who else steps up as a scorer beyond Davis and Davison.

"Our guys are excited," Gard said. "When you get to this point in time of the year, it’s time to start games for real. I think they’re ready for it, they’re eager. They’ve been excited to get to this point counting down the days."

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